


Act IV

by rogueofstorms



Category: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead - Stoppard
Genre: Gen, Old Writing, additional act, but hey, extension, seriously I wrote this like a decade ago, why not share it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-10
Updated: 2015-03-10
Packaged: 2018-03-17 04:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3515390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rogueofstorms/pseuds/rogueofstorms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being an extension of Tom Stoppard's <span class="u">Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead</span> by a single act. It was originally written for a high school literature final (the other option was a 6 pager analysing one of the other books we'd covered). This was around the time I discovered a love for circular plots, and so I wrote an extension to bring RosGuil full circle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Act IV

** Act IV **

_Spot on Center. **Rosencrantz** ( **Ros** ) is seen standing, along and slightly bewildered-looking, at center stage._

**Ros** : Ho! What is this place?

              _(A pause, then)_

              Is anyone here?

_**Ros** looks more confused than before. He sinks to the floor, convinced that he is alone. There is a long, silent pause. Then, a light comes on to **Ros** ’s left (stage left) to reveal **Guildenstern** ( **Guil** ). **Guil** makes a small noise, which reveals his presence to **Ros**._

**Ros** : Why, hello!

              Do I know you?

 **Guil** : Why, yes. And I you.

 **Ros** : Then, who am I?

 **Guil** : I’ve known you since we were children. You are…

 **Ros** : You have?

 **Guil** : Have what?

 **Ros** : Would you like to play a game?

 **Guil** ( _accusingly_ ): You didn’t answer my question.

 **Ros** : What question?

 **Guil** : What’s the first thing you remember?

 **Ros** ( _accusingly_ ): You didn’t answer my question.

 **Guil** : My dear…fellow, what is the first thing you remember?

_(a pause, then)_

**Ros** : …….I honestly don’t know.

 **Guil** : Come on, there must be something that you remember.

 **Ros** : I….I remember that we were sent for.

_**Guil** snaps at this._

**Guil** : That was only three or four weeks ago, my dear Rosencrantz.

 **Ros** : What did you call me?

 **Guil** : Rosenstern…..no. Guildenstern? Guildencrantz?

              No matter. What was that game you wanted to play?

 **Ros** : What game?

 **Guil** : Do you always repeat me?

 **Ros** : Should I?

 **Guil** : No! It bothers me.

 **Ros** : Statement. One-love. Your serve.

 **Guil** : You didn’t even say that we’d started! No point.

 **Ros** : What do you mean by ‘no point’?

 **Guil** : I mean that you don’t get the point for that one.

 **Ros** : Fine. Why were we sent for?

 **Guil** : Something to do with the prince, I believe.

 **Ros** : What about him?

 **Guil** : Do…Do you remember that player we met on the way?

 **Ros** : On the way to what?

 **Guil** : Why, on the way to see the prince!

 **Ros** : The prince of England? I thought there was only a king.

 **Guil** : No, you numbskull! The prince. You know, the one who died…

 **Ros** : Died recently, you mean.

 **Guil** : Yes!

 **Ros** : Hamlet, you mean to say?

 **Guil** : Aha! So that was his name!

 **Ros** : Hamlet’s dead?

 **Guil** : Yes. Quite dead by now, I believe.

 **Ros** : How do you know?

_**Guil** is exasperated by **Ros** and changes the topic._

**Guil** : Wasn’t there a letter?

 **Ros** : Will you stop changing the subject!

 **Guil** : I believe there was. Rosencrantz, do you remember anything about a letter?

 **Ros** : Wait. Hold on. Say that again.

 **Guil** : Say what again?

 **Ros** : What you just said.

 **Guil** : I shan’t. Do you want to play a game?

 **Ros** : What game?

 **Guil** : It’s called the “Everyone is quiet game”.

 **Ros** : I’ve never heard of it. How do you play?

 **Guil** [ _exasperated_ ]: Simple. You. Shut. Up.

 **Ros** :  Okay…

_There is complete and total silence for a few moments, then,_

**Ros** : What letter?

 **Guil** :  nnnnh?

 **Ros** : What letter?

 **Guil** :  Oh. The king gave one to us to give to the King of England.

 **Ros** : I don’t believe in England.

 **Guil** : Haven’t we been over this already?

 **Ros** : I can’t remember.

_**Guil** makes as if to throttle **Ros**. However, he finds himself unable to go beyond the edge of the light surrounding him._

**Guil** : I don’t get this.

_It is almost as if there is an invisible wall separating him from **Ros**._

**Guil** : Come here.

 **Ros** : Who, me?

 **Guil** : Is there anyone else in the room?

 **Ros** : ….no.

 **Guil** : Well, then come over here.

 **Ros** : Alright, if you insist.

_**Ros** attempts to exit his circle of light, only to find that he, too, cannot go beyond its edge._

**Ros** : I can’t.

 **Guil** : Where are we?

 **Ros** :  How should I know?

 **Guil** : It’s rather dark, don’t you think?

 **Ros** : It reminds me of the boat to England.

 **Guil** : I thought you didn’t believe in England!

 **Ros** : I don’t?

 **Guil** : You said it just a few minutes ago.

 **Ros:** What is this place?

 **Guil** : You’ve asked me that already, Rosencrantz.

 **Ros** : What ever happened to that Player we met?

 **Guil** : What Player?

 **Ros** : You know...the one who performed for us on our way to the King.

 **Guil** : Which King?

 **Ros** : ummm…Denmark? was that it? Or was it England?

 **Guil** : Perchance it was both?

 **Ros** : Perhaps.

_Suddenly there is a sound of timbrels. A bugle sounds once, briefly, then is silent. Loud jangling noises emanate from backstage._

**Ros** : What was that?

 **Guil** : I feel as though we’ve been through this before.

 **Ros** : It does seem oddly familiar. Let’s go see what’s causing the noise.

 **Guil** : We can’t.

 **Ros** : What do you mean, “we can’t”?

 **Guil** : We’re trapped.

 **Ros** : Trapped how?

_**Guil** gives yet another sigh of exasperation._

**Guil** : Like this, dummy.

_**Guil** walks toward the edge of his spotlight, only to walk into a seemingly invisible wall. He stretches out his hands, illustrating to Ros that this ‘wall’ encompasses the entire area of the light. **Ros** attempts to walk beyond his circle of light, only to encounter the same trouble that **Guil** has._

**Guil** : See? We’re trapped.

 **Ros** : I guess you were right, then. But…how are we going to figure out what’s making the noises then?

_Throughout this conversation, the odd noises continued, shifting from backstage to backstage left. The jangling begins to get louder, seeming to approach **Ros** and **Guil**._

**Guil** : What’s that?

 **Ros** : What’s what?

 **Guil** : Come off it, Rosencrantz. We don’t have time to play your game.

 **Ros** : I was being serious!

 **Guil** : Ho! Out there! Show yourself!

_**Player** enters from stage left, with his troupe in tow. A third spotlight follows their progress.  Upon their entrance, it becomes clear as to where the noise was coming from. Each of member of the troupe is carrying either a musical instrument or a costume of some kind._

**Player** : You two again!

              _He calls back to his troupe._

              An audience! Come, come! Relax yourselves and watch our latest performance!

_**The Player** begins setting up a staging area as more spotlights highlight a wider area. Three barrels are brought out along with a tall, thick, wooden pole. The pole has a flimsy white sheet attached to it in imitation of a ship’s mainsail. Players dressed as sailors wander around the edges of the lighted area, miming a ship’s rolling deck. A further two Players are dressed alike, yet quite differently from the sailors. These two look very similar to **Ros** and **Guil**. The doubles are wandering about the ‘ship’ when it is attacked by Pirates. They each hide in a separate barrel. Players hide in the third. After a while, jangling noises can be heard coming from the third barrel. Player Ros lifts the cover of his barrel and looks around. Player Guil does the same. They see each other and exit their barrels. The noises continue. Looking confused, the two open the lid of the third barrel to find **Player**. **Player** climbs out of his barrel and looks around. A Pirate comes running into the scene. Upon seeing the threesome, the Pirate gestures for other Pirates to come over. After some deliberation, the Pirates set up a crude sort of gallows, made for three. Player Ros, Player Guil, and **Player** are lined up with the nooses, which are then placed around their necks. The spotlight which they are under suddenly goes dark. When it comes back on, the nooses are empty, the Pirates going about their business._

**Player** : Well? How did you like it?

 **Ros** : Was that supposed to be us?

 **Guil** : It certainly looked like it.

 **Ros** : So, are we dead, then?

 **Player** : What do you think happened?

 **Ros** : Hold on. I want to test something. Can you come here?

 **Player** : Me?

 **Ros** : Yes, please.

_**The Player** easily crosses over the edge of his spotlight to stand just outside of **Ros** ’s. **Ros** and **Guil** are astonished._

**Guil** : How did you do that?

 **Player** : Huh? You mean, you are not able to go beyond where you currently stand?

 **Ros** : Neither of us can. Let’s show him, Guildenstern.

_**Ros** and **Guil** attempt to leave their circles of light. They too easily pass through the edge of their spotlights. To their shock, as soon as they exit their spotlights, the entire stage is lit up to reveal…_

**Guil:** There’s nothing here.

 **Ros:** Where are we?

 **Guil:** You’ve said that before.

 **Ros:** I have?

_The lights begin to dim, ever so slightly at first, then increasing in speed as the Players exit the stage._

**Guil:** Hey, look at that. There’s a coin on the floor.

 **Ros** picks up the coin, flicks it into the air, catches it, then slaps it down onto his other hand.

 **Ros:** Heads or tails?

 **Guil:** Tails.

 **Ros** removes his hand from the coin.

 **Ros:** It’s heads.

_The two can be heard arguing over probability as the lights and their voices fade out, until the stage is completely dark._

 


End file.
